A Son of the Rock

This is another fairly prominent landmark this time by the A8 on the outskirts of Edinburgh. I pass this building a lot as it’s in Edinburgh and reasonably close to where I now live – or at least I did till the M 9 spur to the A 90 opened.

Designed by Patterson and Broom, the roadhouse was built in 1935 but as you can see has since been refurbished (in the 1990s) for use as a casino. Again the facade has been restored sympathetically.

This photo (from the South?) must have been taken some time after the Roadhouse first opened and shows some deterioration.

Pictures of the exterior and plans from the architects involved in the restoration can be found on this site. The interior has since been described as jarring Art Deco.

Iain Zazcek features the Maybury in his book “Essential Art Deco” where he describes its style as International Modernism at its most severe. So it seems to be Art Deco and Modernist. Zazcek emphasises the interaction of vertical and horizontal components of the Maybury as an important architectural feature of the building.

Here, also, is an aerial view (centre-left of picture) of the building’s location at the Maybury intersection from where it’s an impressive sight.